Ashley Nicole McCray for Oklahoma Corporation Commission

$16,350

This campaign is closed and is not collecting donations.

Update: We almost swept the primary in a 4 way race and distanced ourselves by 100,000 votes from our closest contender! We were just a little over 1 pt shy of avoiding a runoff, but I am excited about the opportunity to refine my platform before going toe to toe with Bob Anthony.

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My name is Ashley Nicole McCray and I am a democratic candidate for the Oklahoma Corporation Commission, which is the statewide agency that oversees oil, gas, utilities, and transportation. If elected, I will advocate for renewable and clean energy as an environmental and economic benefit to the state, reduction and eventual elimination of earthquake-causing injection wells, Environmental Impact Statements on incoming projects, and better communication and transparency between the Corporation Commission and Oklahomans. Because the Corporation Commission promotes the idea that state regulation is better than EPA regulation, the Corporation Commission also has the ability to close the Haliburton Loop in the Clean Water Act to better protect Oklahomans and I will work to accomplish this.

I am from the Oglala Lakota nation and I am an enrolled member of the Absentee Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma. I am a mother, a community organizer, an academic, and my family has roots in Oklahoma that go back nearly 10 generations. I was born and raised in Shawnee, Oklahoma and I currently call Norman home. I received my B.A. from the University of Central Oklahoma in 2010, an M.A. from the University of Central Oklahoma in 2012, an M.A. from the University of Oklahoma in 2014, and I was admitted to a doctoral program that same year. My areas of expertise are political economy, industrialization, and the environment.

I am proud to be a part of the #ReadyFor100 #RF100 campaign in Norman, which recently became the first city in Oklahoma and the 70th in the nation to commit to a policy that will transition the city to 100% clean and renewable energy by the year 2035. I am also a part of a local watchdog collective that monitors extractive projects, advocates on behalf of Oklahomans impacted by eminent domain, pushes local governments to protect constituents by encouraging them to enforce local regulations for corporations, and educates the public about the effects of excessive resource extraction on our health, economy, environment, and future.

I was most recently recognized by the Oklahoma Sierra Club's Red Earth Group as their 2017 Distinguished Activist. In 2016, I was selected to advocate on behalf of Oklahoma and the Protect Our Public Lands Act (POPLA) at the Democratic National Convention. If passed by Congress, POPLA would have protected millions of Americans from excessive resource extraction by banning hydraulic fracturing on public lands. While at the DNC, I also keynoted the Climate Summit and led the March for a Clean Energy Revolution. My testimony was included in the Permanent Peoples Tribunal on the Human Rights Impacts of Fracking. I was honored by President Obama as a 2015 White House WHO: Champion of Change for Young Women Empowering Their Communities. In 2015, I received the Norman Human Rights Commission's and Norman City Council’s Human Rights Award. I am known both locally and nationwide as a proven leader for real change and an ardent champion of Oklahomans and the land.

I have appeared in documentaries about my work in Oklahoma, including “Awake: A Standing Rock Dream,” “Protect: Indigenous Communities at the Frontlines of Climate Change & Fossil Fuel Extraction,” and ViceLand TV's Hate Thy Neighbor "United States of Oil and Gas,” where myself and other concerned Oklahomans met with Commissioner Anthony at the Oklahoma Corporation Commission to ask him to take a harsher stance on fracking.

I want to continue standing up for YOU and I need your help to get me through my runoff. Please vote Ashley Nicole McCray for Oklahoma Corporation Commission once again on August 28, and together we can create a better future for ALL Oklahomans!

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Recent endorsements

“I am from West Virginia, an energy extraction state. I went to Standing Rock in Nov2016 and know the resilience of the Oglala Sioux. OK needs someone like Ms. McCray to guide you twds a sustainable future. Wish I had someone like that in WV to vote for tomorrow.”

“Ashley Nichole McCray is an Oklahoma natural. Who more appropriate to represent our resources and make a priority of the "Land that is so grand - Oklahoma!”

“I endorse Ashley McCray because she will save our land, water and the people of Oklahoma.”

“we need someone that cares about our water, our aquifer are depleted yet we continue to draw an draw from them
we must find another way to meet oil and gas and mining needs I have numerous sand mines going in around me not to mention the water that has been cut off in my stream, against state statutes and I can find no one that cares.
The OWRB needs cleaning up and so does the OCC I am a republican and I am standing with this democratic candidate!”

“Her vision to have our state more dependent on renewable energies and OFF THE FOSSIL FUEL band wagon is overdue. Our state's economy is resting on a bubble, much like th housing market was, that will bust open and leave us in very poor shape in the near future.”

“Oklahoma should take advantage of being able to elect their corporation commissioners, rather than have them hand-picked by the industry.”

“We have a unique opportunity in Oklahoma to use the failure of our current administration and the national climate to center the voice of our indigenous leaders in the Corporation Commission election, which would be a massive step towards ending fracking and other disastrous practices in this state. Ashley is the right choice to be a leader in this struggle.”

“If you want to make OK a better place to live & thrive- it's time for change & Ashley is that change!”

Thank you everyone for believing in Ashley! We've raised enough to cover filing fees, literature, and other expenses as we begin to knock on doors! We will need more support to get us all the way across our state, but with your help we can create real change for a better future for all of us!

Show your support for this campaign by endorsing it and sharing why!

Thank you for endorsing this campaign!

Recent endorsements

“I am from West Virginia, an energy extraction state. I went to Standing Rock in Nov2016 and know the resilience of the Oglala Sioux. OK needs someone like Ms. McCray to guide you twds a sustainable future. Wish I had someone like that in WV to vote for tomorrow.”

“I endorse Ashley McCray because she will save our land, water and the people of Oklahoma.”

“we need someone that cares about our water, our aquifer are depleted yet we continue to draw an draw from them
we must find another way to meet oil and gas and mining needs I have numerous sand mines going in around me not to mention the water that has been cut off in my stream, against state statutes and I can find no one that cares.
The OWRB needs cleaning up and so does the OCC I am a republican and I am standing with this democratic candidate!”

“Her vision to have our state more dependent on renewable energies and OFF THE FOSSIL FUEL band wagon is overdue. Our state's economy is resting on a bubble, much like th housing market was, that will bust open and leave us in very poor shape in the near future.”

“Oklahoma should take advantage of being able to elect their corporation commissioners, rather than have them hand-picked by the industry.”

“We have a unique opportunity in Oklahoma to use the failure of our current administration and the national climate to center the voice of our indigenous leaders in the Corporation Commission election, which would be a massive step towards ending fracking and other disastrous practices in this state. Ashley is the right choice to be a leader in this struggle.”

“If you want to make OK a better place to live & thrive- it's time for change & Ashley is that change!”

“I support Ashley McCray because I know she will be a tireless advocate for Native and poor communities, the water, and the natural world. She is educated, she is bold. She is able to communicate the needs and concerns of average Oklahomans.”

“Ashley has the rare vision needed to bring deep and innovative change to Oklahoma, and is a genuine advocate for the community. She will stand strong against moneyed interests in a way few can or will. It is unusual for me to endorse a candidate at the state level at all, much less with this degree of enthusiasm.”